We conducted a study in collaboration with University College London to better understand how trust amongst survivors of human trafficking has been shaped by their experiences before, during and after trafficking. This study focuses on the lived ‘trust journeys’ of human trafficking survivors and includes interviews with 10 survivors of trafficking.
We conducted a small preliminary internal enquiry and spoke to 14 clients about their perspectives of research in general, experiences of research at the Helen Bamber Foundation, barriers to participation, and whether, or how they wanted to be more involved in the research. From this we shared our reflections on best-practice and a list of recommendations for engaging with survivors of trauma and human rights abuses in research.
This clinical guidance for delivering psychological interventions for survivors of trafficking is written by psychologists and practitioners from the Helen Bamber Foundation and Freedom From Torture. Working therapeutically with survivors of trafficking is often complex and emotionally challenging for both the survivor and the therapist, but it can lead to significant improvements for a survivor’s quality of life.
A first-of-its-kind clinical study by the Helen Bamber Foundation and the University of Hertfordshire looked at the mental health impact of living in hotel accommodation on people seeking protection in the UK. It found that those forced to live in asylum hotels experience significantly higher levels of distress and depression compared to people living in alternative accommodation.
This systematic review examines the psychological effects of prolonged waiting times in the asylum process. Prolonged asylum waiting is strongly associated with worsening psychological outcomes, particularly depression, anxiety, PTSD, and suicidal ideation. Both excessively delayed and overly accelerated processes harm applicants. Reducing waiting times is crucial to safeguard mental health. Providing transparent timelines, fairer processing, and opportunities for work or education during waiting could reduce distress.
This qualitative research looked at how being separated from their families affects male refugees living in the UK. Men make up the majority of asylum seekers in the UK and Europe; evidence suggests that men are more likely to seek asylum first to establish legal status and later bring their families to join them. However, there isn’t much research exploring men’s experiences after migrating. What’s more, male asylum-seekers often face negative stereotypes and media portrayals and marginalisation in the countries where they seek safety.
This collection of global research provides further evidence to the Helen Bamber Foundation’s recommendations that people seeking asylum in the UK should have access to quality, suitable housing in communities (not camps or hotels), and the use of immigration detention should be significantly reduced.
This is the first research project to explore asylum-seekers' personal experiences and perceptions of undergoing a medico-legal reports (MLR). We interviewed six people to understand how asylum-seekers make sense of and experience undergoing an MLR, and specifically which parts may be distressing or potentially therapeutic.
Moral injury is understood to be the strong cognitive and emotional response that can occur following events that violate a person’s moral or ethical code. It is characterised by profound feelings of guilt, shame, anger, and disgust and has been conceptualised as a substantial breaking down of an individual’s relationship with self and others. Research in recent years has increasingly highlighted the relationship between exposure to potentially morally injurious events and poor mental health outcomes.
The purpose of this study, undertaken by the University of Birmingham and Helen Bamber Foundation, was to ascertain whether it was possible to assess the extent of caseworkers’ adherence with the interview guidelines, based on an examination of interview transcripts. The study focused on interviews with sexual and gender-based violence because previous research identified that survivors found interviews particularly traumatic.
The current state of immigration and asylum advice is dire – 63% of the population in England and Wales do not have access to an immigration and asylum legal aid provider. Even those that do live near one of the remaining providers face significant barriers in accessing legally aided advice, due to saturated provider capacity precipitated by years of unsustainable legal aid fees, heavy administrative burdens and burnt-out practitioners.
Since 2020, the UK government has used former military barracks and a barge, the Bibby Stockholm, to house asylum seekers. These mass containment sites are not suitable accommodation for anyone seeking asylum, and they are particularly damaging for people with trauma and poor health.
